What document is used to calculate self-employment tax?

The document used to calculate self-employment tax is Schedule SE. This form is specifically designed for self-employed individuals to report their earnings from self-employment and to calculate the tax owed on that income. Self-employment tax includes both the Social Security and Medicare taxes that individuals would typically have withheld from their paychecks if they were employed by someone else.

By using Schedule SE, self-employed individuals can determine how much self-employment tax they owe based on their net earnings from self-employment as reported on Schedule C. Schedule SE takes into account the individual's net profit or loss, applying the necessary calculations to arrive at the self-employment tax amount, which is then reported on Form 1040.

While Form 1040 is indeed the primary individual income tax return form, it does not specifically calculate self-employment tax; this task falls to Schedule SE. Similarly, Form W-2 pertains to wages earned from employment and does not apply to self-employment situations. Hence, Schedule SE is the correct document for calculating self-employment tax.